Review: Wink Frozen Desserts

What if I said the phrase, “ice cream made with pea protein”? Get up off of the floor and stop acting like you fainted dead away (still, that was cool how you threw out your arm and almost smooshed the dog for effect).

Wink’s Frozen Desserts are pretty much devoid of anything you want to avoid with any kind of food allergies; they’re gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy-free, vegan-friendly, and are even conscious of the environment. Sweetened with stevia, you’ll never miss the sugar headaches you experienced with standard ice creams. And each serving is only 1 net carb (they subtract 5 for sugar alcohols)!

Wink’s website is so seriously stinking cute that I immediately go there when I’m especially PMSy. It’s seriously that cute. At least 60 million less people get the stink eye one week out of the month thanks to their cute mascots, special effects and freaky cute fonts.

With so much missing from every little pint container, how might this be something that even remotely interests you? There’s flavor in them thar pails. Each small pint of Wink has a load of flavor to make up for everything else it’s missing in terms of a standard ice cream. The pea protein they use adds some terrific heft, and the lack of preternatural colors makes for a dessert you feel good about serving your kids.

Cookie Dough(pictured above): With a chocolate color appeal and some amazing, oomphy flavor, this one is a winner. It has the flavor profile of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream–without the cookie dough. If you want some chunk of burning love in there, you have options. Keep reading…

Mix-ins: I loved mixing in coconut, chopped chocolate and macadamias to get the crunch I want.

Overall review: I loved it with my taste buds, and it gave me what I needed texturally when I used add-ins. Without the add-ins, a nice, mild chocolate taste. It’s definitely promises cookie dough–so use those mix-ins if you feel depressed.

Mix-ins: White chocolate chips, coconut, a couple of sprinkles on top. I even added a candle. Why not? Everyone likes setting stuff on fire for special occasions.

Overall review: A pleasant, rich vanilla flavor with a darker color. It’s vanilla plus. Think of the most amazing fragrant candle you own that you spent a little bit more for. It’s like that, but with dessert.

Mint Chocolate (pictured above): The scent is pretty much as intoxicating as the flavor (it’s not drunk-making. I said intoxicating. It’s more refined and with fewer regrets later). Without the neon green often seen in mint chocolate chip ice creams, you even feel more natural eating it.

Mix-ins: Coarsely chopped dark chocolate chips add just that tiny bit of crunch I really wanted from this dessert.

Overall review: Without the chunks, it’s a mint sherbet. It’s not texturally creamy like your standard mint chocolate chip, but don’t let that stop you. I also love that the color feels more natural. It’s not day-glo green up in here.

Cinnamon Bun (pictured above): The smell of cinnamon in this recipe is pretty boffo. Who says you can’t enjoy a little breakfast for dessert?

Mix-in: Mix a tablespoon of powdered erythritol with a 1/2 teaspoon of heavy white cream and pour over the top for your own sugar free glaze.

Overall review: Think of this as a cinnamon sherbet and you’re good to go. I want more “cream” in this, but the glaze achieves that, since it’s thick and creamy.

Final thoughts: A little of these flavors go a long way, so while the $6/pint price tag might make you weepy, you get a lot of organic bang for your buck. Also consider that this is a smaller business, they ship quickly, and your product arrives in terrific condition. customer service is perfection and you’re 100% guaranteed to love their products, or they’ll work with you to make it right. Did I mention that their website is freaking adorable?

All in all, when you’re dealing with allergies and sugar free, it’s hard to find one product that can help everyone. Wink really knocks it out of the park with these intensely flavored sherbets! I hope he’ll expand his line to include full-fat dairy and possibly egg for those of us who want low carb and the richness of ice cream coupled with convenience of front door delivery. It’s worth hoping for anyway…

I want to try this SOOOO badly. I am a little skeptical though. Man, I wish they had samples at the grocery store because buy 5 pints of this ice cream without trying it is a little risky! Although, there are BIGGER risks I could take in life, LOL!

I am waiting for them to hit the stores locally. That’s easy to do. Just let stores know you want to see this product. I think these guys are a great fir for Sprouts, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, among other places: http://www.winkfrozendesserts.com/#!locations/c1y3

I very much wanted to like this through and through, but found the experience mixed. I tried the Cocoa Dough (which you referred to as “Cookie Dough”) and, while I did find the texture and fullness surprisingly good for such a low-calorie treat, I found it nearly flavorless and not even remotely the “load of flavor” you described them as. However, I agree that it makes a good base for add-ins, and would make for a very good low-calorie, low-sugar banana split or sunday foundation. The texture, as I mentioned before, is pretty good for a low-calorie vegan ice cream, without too much of the iciness which many products in this category suffer from. I am NOT a fan of stevia, but it’s faint enough in here that it doesn’t have the awful aftertaste normally associated with the stuff.

I’m looking forward to trying the other flavors and hope to find them less wanting.